


What’s in a Name

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: At least my self-indulgent idea of their backstories, Backstory, I have always wanted Claude and Sebastian to be friends so I wrote a fic about it, My own personal headcanons about demons, discussion of past identities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28751367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: Ciel and Alois eavesdrop on their butlers and learn some things that drastically alter their worldviews
Relationships: Ciel Phantomhive & Alois Trancy, Claude Faustus & Alois Trancy, Claude Faustus & Sebastian Michaelis, Sebastian Michaelis & Ciel Phantomhive
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	What’s in a Name

“Let’s eavesdrop.” Alois Trancy whispered, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he grabbed Ciel’s arm before he could step out into the street, not seeming to mind the way Ciel yanked his arm away with disgust., “We don’t know what they get up to when we leave them alone, let’s see it in action.”

“What a waste of time.” Ciel scoffed, “Leave them to fight, I have better things to do.”

“Last time we left them alone to fight, they came back with two matching roses and nothing but evasive answers.” Alois pointed out with a sly smirk, “Or do you truly believe they just loyally follow whatever orders we give them without bending them at all?” He was right, and the fact burned at Ciel. He grit his teeth, fixing the other boy with a dark look. 

“Fine.” he grit out, “But don’t think it’s because you’re right or anything. I am simply curious myself.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, let’s  _ go!” _ Alois eagerly pulled him along, and Ciel reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged along, returning to the hidden parlor where they’d left their butlers on the expectation they would fight, Alois eager to catch his butler in the act. To Ciel’s irritation, when they arrived they saw their butlers were in fact not fighting at all. Instead they were seated at a table having  _ tea. _ Ciel felt fury rise in him, fury he saw echoed in Alois’ face, and it took every shred of his self control not to start yelling at his disobedient butler. Instead, he slipped his hand over Alois’ mouth to prevent him from doing just that, tugging him into a dark corner where they could observe without being seen. 

Luckily for them, the demons seemed to be too engrossed in conversation to pay much attention to their surroundings, something Ciel swore to scold Sebastian about later. As soon as their masters had left the room, it seemed, their respective acts had dropped. Claude and Sebastian were smirking at each other, apparently in the middle of a gripping conversation, looking for all the world like two friends without a care in the world.

“-though I see that hasn’t changed, you’re still suffering from a terminal case of little bitch disease.” Sebastian continued the thread of some earlier conversation, the unexpected profanity startling Ciel. Claude only chuckled at the strange insult, seeming more relaxed than Ciel had ever seen the stiff man. 

“And you’ve still got all the markings of smug prick syndrome.” Claude smirked, the camaraderie between the two of them as obvious as it was disquieting. He exchanged a glance with Alois, who seemed just as confused and irritated as he was. Perhaps more so, as his obsession with his butler was far greater than Ciel’s.

“So besides all of that, how have you been?” Sebastian gave the enemy butler a smile, and it seemed sincere, a far softer thing than he had ever graced Ciel with, and the oddest pang of envy shot through him. He hadn’t felt such an emotion since the two butlers had returned together to the Trancy ball with matching red roses on their lapels.

“About as well as to be expected, given the ridiculous nature of my young Master.” Claude sighed, taking a sip of his tea, and Alois all but hissed at the slight, “And you?”

“The same.” Sebastian waved, “The house servants are as clumsy as ever, certainly no match for yours in terms of skill.”

“Skill, yes. Personality, no.” Claude said easily, “Yours are more fun, for sure. Again, I’d trade in an instant.”

“I already said, you can’t have Finny.” Sebastian laughed, “I’m unfortunately very attached.”

“I can see why.” Claude sighed almost dreamily, and Ciel repressed a growl at this miserable spider having eyes on his gardener, “Well, at least give him my regards.”

“Will do. Ah, before I forget, he asked me to tell you that he greatly enjoyed the cake you gifted him last time, and that he will now die for you.” Sebastian chirped, open amusement written across his face. Ciel could see his own bewilderment reflected in Alois’ eyes, mixed with a pathetically open jealousy that almost made Ciel feel sorry for him. He’d have to keep a closer eye on Finian, to make sure Alois didn’t try anything to retaliate. And to interrogate his gardener about his interactions with the Trancy butler. 

“He’s such a sweetheart.” Claude chuckled, “I wish the triplets were more like him. You too, old friend, you could stand to be more chipper.” Alois chose that moment to speak, his unusually quiet voice distracting Ciel from Sebastian’s response. 

“Claude always did seem more playful when Sebastian was around.” he muttered bitterly, nearly too low for even Ciel to hear, “Almost like he was having  _ fun.” _ It was true, even Ciel had to admit. Their butlers almost seemed to revel in the times they were pitted against each other, almost as if they were showing off for one another. It made Ciel sick to his stomach to imagine these two as friends, that their rivalry and distaste was simply a show they put on for their naive young masters. A  _ game  _ for them to laugh about behind closed doors.

‘Old friend’, Claude had called Sebastian. Ciel felt nauseous. 

“My master licked my hand today.” Claude shuddered, and Ciel breathed a sigh of relief that neither seemed to have heard Alois’ quiet mutterings, “Not the worst thing to happen, but not still not great.” Sebastian snorted inelegantly at that, sipping his tea in a vain attempt to hide it. 

“Do you know how bad it is, how bad your day must have been.” he smiled amusedly, “That you have your master doing things like  _ that, _ and you think ‘eh... I’ve seen weirder’.”

“I’ve seen weirder  _ today!” _ Claude laughed brightly, and Ciel shuddered as Alois’ breath caught, “Sebastian, I thought this butler job was going to be Heaven, but more and more it’s like the other place, the hot one.”

“Oh, you mean home?” Sebastian teased, “As much home as Hell can be, anyway. I maintain that my home will always be Mykonos.”

Mykonos?

“You’ve yet to take me to see it.” Claude smiled, and the expression was so foreign to his face that Ciel shuddered even as Alois stared transfixed, “I hear so many stories of your youth spent there, and yet never have I set so much as a toe on it’s shores.”

“Oh, if only you could have seen it back in the day.” Sebastian sighed, a sort of wistful nostalgia on his face that instantly piqued Ciel’s curiosity, “The marketplace, the bustling docks, the seaside caves, the temple of Artemis where I’d pray before each hunt.” His words made no sense to Ciel, none at all. Why would a demon pray to a heathen goddess? Did that mean the Greek gods were real? What then did that imply for other gods? For the christian God? His mind whirled with theological questions, and the butlers just continued to chat obliviously like nothing was wrong.

“Amusing now to think of such things.” Claude smiled softly, his eyes briefly going distant, “There was a time where I swung my ax in Odin’s name, though rarely did I pray to my gods for assistance.”

“Well, the Greek gods were rumored to be more active in the mortal world than most.” Sebastian waved, “But I digress. Perhaps I’ll take you to Mykonos after you take me to Vinnathorpe. Though if it’s anything like my island, it will be unrecognizable nowadays.” At the name Vinnathorpe, Alois tilted his head, seeming disquieted. 

“Ah, Vinnathorpe.” Claude murmured with a small smile, “My Highness and I actually visited it the other day on business. It’s doing quite well for itself, even in this day and age. When I stood in certain places, it was like I could still see the tiny riverside settlement my sister and I founded all those centuries ago.”

Sister?  _ Founded?  _ Ciel and Alois exchanged startled glances, taken aback by the seemingly simple revelation. A demon founding a settlement? Why? It didn’t make any sense? Did a contract require it of him? But no, he’d mentioned a sister, it didn’t make any sense. Unless someone had contracted two demons? To build a settlement? That didn’t add up at all.

“Claude seemed uncharacteristically distracted that day.” Alois muttered, eyes wide and deep in disturbed thought, “Even made some weird offering by the shore, words I couldn’t understand. I thought it was some demon thing, but...” A possibility came to Ciel then, one that would explain a few things while opening the door for thousands of more questions. 

_ Could it be possible that demons were once human? _

He could see Alois’ mind whirling, likely drawing the same conclusions as Ciel was. The demons continued to converse, having changed the topic at some point while their masters reeled from the potential theological minefield they’d stumbled upon. 

“-the jarl. Don’t get me wrong, being an elegant and refined butler is fun and all.” Claude laughed, “But I do miss the days when I could simply grab a big ax and just lose my fucking mind on some monks.”

“You could still do that any time.” Sebastian pointed out, and Claude sighed wistfully. 

“The blood eagles, I miss the blood eagles, Sebastian.”  _ The hell was a blood eagle? _

“Fair.” Sebastian replied, “Though if I recall, Ljufvina was much better at keeping her victims alive through it than you.”

“I always got too excited, what can I say?” Claude chuckled, “My sister was always the more patient of us.” So Claude’s sister was named Ljufvina? Ciel found himself curious, wanting to know more. Claude could choke as far as Ciel was concerned, but Sebastian’s past had always been a point of curiosity for him. A glance to his side showed that Alois was mouthing the sister’s name to himself, memorizing it for future research no doubt, and Ciel found himself drawing on what tantalizing hints Sebastian had dropped. A tiny island in Greece. A temple to a moon goddess. Hunting? What picture did that paint?

“Eagerness for blood and glory is nothing to be ashamed of, especially for a viking such as yourself.” Sebastian tittered as Alois made a quiet noise at that. Ciel had to agree. Claude, a viking? Really? Ciel tried to imagine it, but couldn’t quite manage it, though Alois clearly could if the rapturous expression on his face was any indication, “And anyway, who’s going to judge you? God? His crimes far outnumber our own.” 

“You’re right, as you often are.” Claude smiled wryly, “I suppose an old man like me just isn’t used to the changing of the times.”

“Old ma-I’m centuries older than you!” Sebastian snorted, and Ciel couldn’t resist giving Alois a smug smirk at that, sticking out his tongue, perhaps a bit childishly, to taunt him over the fact that his demon was far older than than the brat’s, and the anger in those sky blue eyes was well worth the indignity of the juvenile gesture, “Don’t forget,  _ youngin’, _ I was fighting in the Peloponnesian war long before you were even a twinkle in your mother’s eye.”

“Yes, because you were a bigshot pirate playing both sides.” Claude rolled his eyes, his tone teasing, “How can I forget when I’ve heard the stories countless times?”

“You’re such a good audience, how can I resist?” Sebastian replied, “Although I daresay my stories are far less violent than yours. More interesting, for sure, but less goofy gory fun.”

“Well Athenodoros, we can’t all be mighty slayers of kings and advisors of pharaohs.” Claude smirked, and Sebastian seemed delighted at the unfamiliar word. 

“Oho!” he clapped, seeming cheerily amused, “Haven’t heard that name in a tic. And you’re one to talk about kingslaying,  _ Brynjar the Ravenous.” _ Claude closed his eyes at that, sighing wistfully. 

“How I miss hearing that name.” he murmured, “Nowadays my name is just whatever my current master says it is.” And clarity struck Ciel like a lightning bolt, freezing him in place. Athenodoros wasn’t some strange demonic form of address, it was Sebastian’s  _ name. _ His real name, his actual name, not the placeholder granted by Ciel, and the revelation left him reeling, eyes wide and mouth gaping in a surely undignified manner. 

“A… Athen…” he whispered, shaken. Athenodoros.  _ Athenodoros. _ Clearly foreign. Greek, perhaps? It would line up with the references to Mykonos, to a temple of Artemis. But the name didn’t fit in Ciel’s mind, not at all. Sebastian could only ever be Sebastian! Beside him, Alois had clearly figured it out as well, his eyes wide and slightly crazed-looking as he mouthed  _ Brynjar, Brynjar, Brynjar _ again and again, and Ciel almost felt pity for the hell Claude’s obliviousness had almost definitely brought down upon him. 

“I know the feeling.” Sebastian tutted sympathetically, unheeding of the fact that he’d just shaken Ciel’s world out from under him, “Still takes time getting used to new names. My master named me after his dog this time around.”

“That’s rough, buddy.” Claude said easily, like he hadn’t just addressed his supposed enemy as  _ buddy, _ “Mine named me after a book character, a noble knight and steadfast protector.”

“Braggart.” Sebastian snorted, “Your name may have a more noble origin, but at least my master knows how to fucking behave himself.”

“Don’t remind me.” Claude gave a shudder, “My Highness acts so creepy all the time, it makes me long for the days where I served Wēn Miánjiāo.”

“Christ on a bike, you’re still hung up on Wēn Miánjiāo?” Sebastian shook his head fondly, and Ciel quickly restrained Alois lest he fly into a noisy rage at the very idea of his Claude longing for another, “Even after all these years?”

“A-Jiāo was good to me, what can I say?”

“Truly your continued admiration for her is touching.” Sebastian chuckled, “A little pathetic, but still touching.”

“I’ll have you know her soul was delicious, as was her tea.” Claude sipped his tea pointedly as Ciel finally calmed Alois down enough that he stopped raging and settled for silently fuming, “And don’t act like you don’t get hung up on masters too, remember Hepzefa?” Sebastian made a sound of acquiescence, shaking his head fondly as Ciel had to fight down his own pang of jealousy, bristling at the idea of being compared to a past master. 

“Yes, I suppose that does make us quite the same, hm?” Sebastian laughed, “Athenodoros and Brynjar, missing the masters that were good to us, two peas in a pod.”

“Don’t get it twisted, drengr.” Claude huffed, though there was no real heat behind it, “Don’t act like we’re even remotely similar.”

“Aren’t we though?” Sebastian teased, and Ciel got the distinct sense they’d had this conversation many times before, “Fled from our homes, built a new life from the ground up, killed lots of people, seen some shit?”

“No,  _ I _ fled Norway to escape the ‘unifying’ rule of King Harald.” Claude sneered the name, disdain clear in the curl of his lip, “And  _ you _ fled Greece because...?” Sebastian grumbled something too quiet for the straining young masters to hear, and Claude’s smile grew, “Do speak up Athenodoros, I didn’t quite hear you.”

“Because I bedded both the King and the Queen of Sparta.” Sebastian grumbled, and Ciel barely withheld a horrified sound at the words as Alois snickered silently, “And they became  _ very _ cross when they found out, you know this, Brynjar.”

“I know.” Claude grinned widely, “I simply love hearing the story.”

“You just love hearing of my humiliations.” Sebastian lamented, and Claude reached over to pour him more tea, an companionable act that made Alois’ body tense once more. 

“Tell me again of how their men chased you across the whole of the Greek world until you found sanctuary in some backwater in Egypt.” Claude teased, and Sebastian sipped his tea with a petulant grumble.

“I’d hardly call Krokodilopolis a  _ backwater.” _ Sebastian grumbled, “Though still I had to wait  _ years _ to return home. At least you had the choice to return to Norway whenever you wanted.”

“Yes, return to Norway to face the mess Harald had made of my beautiful country.” Claude rolled his eyes, “England was vastly inferior, but at least we had our freedom here.”

“Indeed.” Sebastian sighed, “Your future was quite bright until that day in Jorvik-“

“I don’t want to talk about Jorvik.” Claude said abruptly, and Sebastian actually looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry.” he said sincerely, and Ciel wanted to gag at the sight of his butler actually apologizing to that bastard, “I… I get it, I do. I’ve told you about what happened to make me into a demon.” Ciel’s eyes narrowed as one of his questions was answered. Something had to happen in order for them to become a demon, something possibly tragic. Claude’s transformation likely had something to do with a place called Jorvik, and Sebastian’s was… a mystery. A mystery that still left a shadow in his butler’s eyes. That didn’t sit well with him, not at all. 

“Yes.” Claude sighed, the tension leaving him slowly, “Your own Jorvik. Let’s not discuss such miserable things now, I wish to be in a good mood when my Highness returns.” 

“Of course.” Sebastian smiled, making an effort to brighten the mood, “You know, we really don’t get to spend time together like this too often anymore. It’s nice.”

“Indeed.” Claude smiled in return, “Perhaps once our current contracts are finished we’ll have more time to spend like this.”

“That sounds nice.” Sebastian sighed, and Ciel made a somewhat petty decision to keep these two apart as much as possible, “Oh, but our young masters will surely return soon. We should probably trash the place to make it seem like we fought.”

“Yes, I suppose all good things must come to an end.” Sebastian said, the two of them finishing their tea and standing in perfect unison. They leapt into the air and became like darting shadows, swinging and swiping at each other but in a way that was distinctly playful, making sure to wreck the parlor as much as possible as they danced around each other, calls of  _ Excellent shot, drengr _ and  _ Good show, maketes _ filling the air as they set the stage for yet another lie, yet another farce for them to playact and titter behind their hands as their masters fell for it hook line and sinker. 

Ciel grit his teeth as he stood, Alois doing the same beside him, the two exchanging a significant look, the meaning clear. They would discuss this on their own time, bear each other’s company long enough to swap theories and discuss the staggering revelation that demons were once humans, that their demons had pasts beyond those of a simple occult beings,  _ human _ pasts, human lives. They’d lived, they’d made choices good and bad, had victories and humiliations, ambitions and dreams, they might not even have known demons existed. Claude had been a viking, fleeing tyranny for a better life in England. Sebastian had been a pirate of some kind in the ancient world, fighting a war until he’d been forced to flee the land due to a foolish decision. Somehow, they had come to cross each other’s path, and Ciel surmised that Sebastian must have already been a demon by the time he met Claude. 

Despite everything he had learned, one question tugged at Ciel above all else. Something had happened to turn them to demons, but what? How did a human go about becoming a demon? Was it intentional or not? Did they make a deal? Experience some terrible trauma? Suffer some unspeakable torture? He vowed to ask Sebastian straight up, order him to answer if he needed to. Or… Or maybe not order him. That was something Alois would do, and he would rather die than have anything in common with that little creep. 

Questions questions, and the only place to get answers was the most stubborn bastard on the planet. Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. He knew he’d likely have to corner his butler to answer any questions pertaining to his past, but he was up to the challenge. For now, he put his stoic mask firmly in place, and strode out to call for the tricky butler whose history he’d never thought to inquire about before today. He’d have to read up more on piracy during the Pelopponesian war, when he had the time, and he’d keep an eye out for any mention of one called Athenodoros. And from the dark look in Alois’ eyes as they walked, he knew the other earl would be diving into research about Brynjar the Ravenous as soon as he could, unable to stomach not knowing as much as possible about the object of his obsession. 

Sebastian smiled at him as he approached, he and Claude donning their thin veneer of animosity, and Ciel found a strange sort of mischief in having information his butler did not. They could play their little game for now, but Ciel always got what he wanted in the end. 

And he wanted  _ everything _ from his butler, his past as well as his present. 

**Author's Note:**

> This show had so many flaws but I still enjoy it and the nostalgia it brings. I always had this idea that Claude and Sebastian were buddies until the show dashed that to pieces, but fuck it, my canon now
> 
> I was originally gonna make Sebastian’s true identity the actual musician and poet Orpheus, but then I decided to make him his own person, but I may still write something like that in the future since I adore the Orpheus myth and the Hades version of him
> 
> Also can you tell I fucking love Assassin’s Creed lmao


End file.
